Creighton, North Carolina march into second round

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Creighton leaned on experience from past trips through March to make sure this one didn’t start with a stumble.

Ryan Kalkbrenner scored 23 points and Trey Alexander had 19 as the Bluejays, who came within seconds of making the Final Four a year ago, opened the NCAA Tournament with a 77-60 win over Akron in the Midwest Region on Thursday.

No. 3 seeded Creighton (24-9) got all it could handle in the first half from No. 14 seed Akron (24-11), the Mid-American Conference tourney champion which came in as a 10 1/2-point underdog, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.

However, the Bluejays flexed their Big East muscles after halftime and pulled away to advance to the second round and a matchup against the South Carolina-Oregon winner on Saturday at PPG Paints Arena.

This was the start Creighton was hoping for. A year ago, the Bluejays’ season ended with a heartbreaking 57-56 loss to San Diego State — Creighton committed a foul in the closing seconds — in the South Region final. Much of that squad came back for coach Doug McDermott to try and make another deep run, and the Bluejays have taken the first step.

NO. 1 NORTH CAROLINA 90, NO. 16 WAGNER 62

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Armando Bacot had 20 points and 15 rebounds, and No. 1 seed North Carolina never trailed in beating 16th-seeded Wagner 90-62 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday.

Jae’Lyn Withers had a season-high 16 points and matched his best rebounding work with 10 boards for the West Region’s headliner. That helped the Tar Heels (28-7) finish the game shooting 55% while dominating up front against a short-handed upstart aiming to pull off only the third opening-round takedown of a 1-seed in March Madness history.

RJ Davis, named this week as a first-team All-American by The Associated Press, had 17 of his 22 points after halftime for the Tar Heels.

NO. 9 MICHIGAN STATE 69, NO. 8 MISSISSIPPI STATE 51

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Tyson Walker scored 19 points and Michigan State coach Tom Izzo picked up his 20th win in the first round of the NCAA Tournament as his ninth-seeded Spartans beat eighth-seeded Mississippi State 69-51 on Thursday. Michigan State improved to 20-6 in March Madness openers under Izzo, who is making his 26th straight NCAA Tournament appearance — an NCAA Division I record for a coach at one school.

Jaden Akins added 15 points and seven rebounds and Mailk Hall scored 10 points for the Spartans (20-14), who’ll face either top-seeded North Carolina or No. 16 seed Wagner on Saturday.

Freshman Josh Hubbard scored 15 points for the Bulldogs (21-14), who haven’t won an NCAA Tournament game since 2021. Hubbard had just two points in the second half.

Both teams entered the tournament having lost five of seven games.

NO. 2 ARIZONA 85, NO. 15 LONG BEACH STATE 65

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Arizona scored 16 straight points over a five-minute stretch Thursday to pull away for an 85-65 victory in the first round of the NCAA Tournament and snuff out Dan Monson’s coaching tenure at Long Beach State.

Kylan Boswell scored 20 points for the second-seeded Wildcats (26-8), who made 13 3-pointers,

This marked the end of a 17-year stretch at Long Beach State for the 62-year-old Monson. He learned last week that he wouldn’t return next season. His team responded by unexpectedly winning the Big West Tournament to send the program to March Madness for the first time since 2012.

NO. 11 DUQUESNE 71, NO. 6 BYU 67

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Dae Dae Grant scored 19 points, including four clinching free throws in the final 10 seconds, and No. 11 seed Duquesne kept retiring coach Keith Dambrot working for a little bit longer with a 71-67 victory against sixth-seeded BYU in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday.

Jakub Necas added 12 points and Jimmy Clark III had 11 for the Atlantic 10 tourney champs celebrated their return to the dance after 47 years with their first win there since 1969. The Dukes (2511) will play No. 3 seed Illinois or No. 14 seed Morehead State for a spot in the Sweet 16 on Saturday.

The Cougars (23-11) trailed by as many as 14 in the second half before drawing even when Foussyni Traore, who had struggled all game, slammed down the second of back-to-back baskets to knot the game at 60-all with 1:45 to go.